The McGill Redmen (7-2-0) overcame a tenacious first period performance by the Laurentian Voyageurs (4-5-0) with three goals in the second period to win 6-2 at McConnell Arena on Saturday.

“It was a great win, team effort,” second-year right-winger Christophe Lalonde said. “We had a slow start [in the] first five minutes, but then we came back and pushed up the pace, and just kept grinding.”

The first five minutes of the game culminated in a Voyageurs goal. A ten-minute stretch of intense back-and-forth with multiple shots on net followed.

“Our game plan was to put the puck below the red line, the goal line, and then just apply pressure on their defence and then shoot from everywhere,” Lalonde said.

While the strategy eventually resulted in two first period goals for McGill, it also caused numerous turnovers in the offensive zone that forced the Redmen defence to scramble back and nullify the ensuing breakaways.

“In a game like tonight, the [offensive] turnovers [were not] a big deal,” McGill fifth-year defenceman Nathan Chiarlitti said. “We just [needed] to get a little bit of momentum going, but we’ll just try and work on that throughout the season.”

This ultra-aggressive approach reaped rewards for the Redmen who took the lead with three goals in the second period. Ultimately, a slew of penalties in the third period ended any momentum for Laurentian as McGill’s strong powerplay team dominated.

“Special teams were good on both sides [powerplay and penalty kill],” Redmen Head Coach Kelly Nobes said. “We had everybody going tonight, all four lines, six defence, our goalie, there were no passengers and that’s a lot of fun to play like that, so that’s the positives of tonight.”

The next games for McGIll hockey will be at Waterloo against Laurier on Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Waterloo on Nov. 12 at 4 p.m.

“The focus is going to be on the hard work and being ready to start the game on time, because we’re not doing that lately,” Redmen defenceman Redgie Bois said. “Just be ready, and I think it’s going to go well.”

Stat Corner

The Redmen took 43 shots on net to get their six goals, whereas the Voyageurs only managed to get 22 shots past a strong McGill defensive line.

Quotable

“We just kept shooting — we knew that the goalie was going to at least [mess up] once.” – McGill’s Christophe Lalonde on the team’s offensive strategy.

Moment of the Game

McGill’s Redgie Bois, following a powerplay goal by Laurentian, broke into the offensive zone and scored, the rapidity of their response dashing any hopes of a Voyageur comeback.

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Land Acknowledgement

McGill University is located on land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations. The McGill Tribune honours, recognizes and respects these nations as the traditional stewards of the lands and waters on which we meet today.